Arthur Casson
Arthur Casson is the hereditary Comte de Rochambeau and the Baron de St. James in The Royaume of Louisiana. Biography Early Life Arthur was born on December 18, 2259, to Jérôme Devereux the Roi of The Royaume and his Mistress, Salome, Duchesse de Lafayette, wife of Duc Gene Casson. Jérôme knew that Arthur was his child, but to keep his dynasty safe he asked Salome to claim the child was the son of Gene Casson. When he was five years old, Arthur was sent as a hostage of the Royal Family in order to secure and keep the loyalty of the Duc de Lafayette, who had supported Jean-Napoleon Arceneaux's father in the Civil War, which almost destroyed the Royaume. Despite being a hostage of the Royal Family, he was given an education that was befitting a member of the nobility. Because Arthur suffered from clubfoot, he was unable to participate in physical activities. On the other hand, he excelled in his studies and impressed his tutors, such as James St. Just, the Director General of the Gendarmes, with his intellect and wit. He became obsessed with history and started to read many of the historical classics. These include The Wars of Justinian by Procopius of Caesarea, The Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius, and Parallel Lives by Plutarch. He also became obsessed with philosophy and read many important philosophical and theological works including, Lectures on the Philosophy of History by G.W.F. Hegel, The City of God ''by St. Augustine of Hippo, ''Experience and Education by John Dewey, On Crimes and Punishments by Cesare Beccaria, and The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. It was through Hegel that he learned about the dialectic, which would be major influence throughout his life. It was through The Age of Reason, that Arthur decided that he was a deist. He kept his true religion a secret, and kept attending church so as not to alienate any potential political allies. Arthur also studied military tactics and became influenced by the military philosopher and theorist Carl von Clausewitz and his influential work On War. During this time, he became very close friends with the daughter of the Roi, Zoe Devereux. They formed a sibling-like relationship, even though neither of them had an idea they were actually half-siblings. He even remained close to her after she got married to his older brother Jean Casson, the eldest son of the Duc de Lafayette. Start of Career When he was eighteen, Arthur was appointed by the Roi Jérôme Devereux, to be the Chief Scholar of the Royal Library. This position allowed Arthur to realize his dream of making the Royaume not only a great military power, but equally an educated and knowledgeable power. Arthur took a complete inventory of the book collection in the Royal Palace and petitioned the Roi to build a public library with a collection of books for Royaume citizens. The Roi noted that he expected the aristocracy would be allowed into the Royal Library. Arthur accepted, and the Royal Library of the Royaume was built. In 2281, after reigning for nearly forty years, Roi Jérôme Devereux died at the age of fifty-nine and left behind a very important legacy. Etienne Devereux, age 26, was appointed by the new Roi, Arthur was to serve as the Chief Strategist for the Gendarmerie, and was installed as the Comte de Rochambeau. His mentor, the Chevalier and Director General, James St. Just sent to him to go find a suitable location for a settlement on the Mississippi River so they could build a small river port in order to create a navy for the Royaume, that would be able to patrol the waters of the Mississippi and would be able to keep the Court of the Bayou from encroaching on their land. Arthur decided on the former town of Edgard, Louisiana to create a river port and settlement to support it. He chose Edgard for its closeness to Tuloya and its proximity to U.S. 90. He petitioned the Roi to send 160 people and fifteen Gendarmes to start building up Arthur's "Barony of St. James." He developed a Five Year plan for the settlement which would help in the revitalization of the Mississippi River. In the 1st phase of the plan, he ordered for the construction of an inland port, which would serve as the main hub for river trade of the Royaume. The construction took two years to complete but once completed it would serve as a location for Mississippi Traders Union merchants to transport their goods to the capital city of Tuloya. The 2nd phase, of the Five Year plan, called for the construction of three boats that could be used to defend St. James and Tuloya from being attacked by swampers and the Court of the Bayou. The 3rd phase and final phase of the Five Year plan would be for the peasants to learn the agricultural technique of irrigation to be able to plant crops and sell them on the market. Discovery of Heritage In late 2281, Arthur was reviewing the personal papers of the late Roi, Jérôme Devereux. As he was looking through the papers, he came across a set of Correspondence letters that were between his mother Salome Casson, the Duchesse de Lafayette and the late Roi Jérôme Devereux. Curiously, he went through these letters to see what the contents were about. While reading the letters, he found sexual overtones in the letters, which suggested that the Roi and Duchesse de Lafayette were having an affair. One letter which mentioned Arthur, referred to him as “the changeling or nestling”. This sent a chill up Arthurs spine and caused him to suspect that he might not be the son of Gene Casson, the Duc de Lafayette, but is really the bastard child of Jérôme Devereux. Bothered by his suspicions, he traveled to his supposed Father’s Barony in Vermilionville. Once there he confronted his mother Salome about the Letters, that he had found, and demanded an explanation. Salome was reluctant at first, but admitted to Arthur, that she and Jérôme had an affair and that he was conceived as a result of that affair. Beginning of Friendships and Alliances In 2284, Arthur met an enslaved thirty-two-year-old man named Marshall Haines who was betrayed by the slavers guild he had worked for. Realizing there was more to this man than meets the eye, Arthur purchased Haines and set him free. Arthur then offered Haines the position of Maréchal of St. James. At first, Haines refused Arthur's offer, but after hearing it would help him get revenge on the slavers guild he accepted Arthurs offer. Haines became the Maréchal of St. James and commander of the Gendarmes stationed there. Two years later, Arthur decided that he would aid the Baron de Golden Meadow, Edgard Armistead in his bid to conquer the Barataria Bay. Arthur would supply Edgard with weapons, supplies, and reinforcements when necessary, in exchange for a marriage with one of his six daughters and control of 50% of the conquered ports in the Barataria Bay. Arthur started his aid to the Baron de Golden Meadow, by sending 2,000 caps worth of ammunition and food. Arthur married Juliette Armistead, the eldest daughter of the Baron de Golden Meadow, on September 12, 2286, in Jacksonia, and would go to live in his home in the Barony of St. James. Arthur did not like that he had only 50% of the ports in Barataria Bay, and felt he was entitled to all of the ports in the area. This led to considerable tension between Arthur and his new father-in-law who both felt they were both entitled to control 100% of the ports in the Bartaria Bay. Tension grew between the two settlements, St. James and Barataria Bay, almost escalating to war, but thanks to the intervention of James St. Just a compromise was made in which both sides would get control 50% of the ports in the Bay once they were conquered. Creation of Cavalry Unit In early 2287, Arthur established an elite cavalry unit, made up of ten Gendarmes, that he handpicked throughout the various baronies of the Royaume. He ordered that eleven horses or knobheads be brought from the plains of Mexico, to the Barony of St. James. This cavalry unit would be equipped with the best sabers and laser muskets that could be bought within the Royaume. Their uniforms would also be based off the uniforms that were worn by the Union Army during the American Civil War. He placed his trusted lieutenant, the Maréchal of St. James, Marshall Haines in charge of the Unit. Personality Arthur is known to be a connoisseur of historical works, which he reads fervently. His favorite historical works include the writings of the Byzantine Historian Procopius of Caesarea and his works regarding the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. He is also very judgmental and harsh on his subjects who do not obey his orders. He also has an unyielding sense of justice, as a result of him meeting Marshall Haines. Arthur has made it his mission to clear The Big Easy of slave hunters and to exterminate any of the slaver's guild who operate in the Royaume. His clubfoot deformity has also made him the subject of ridicule by several members of the Royaume's aristocracy, who view him as being inferior to the other members of the Royaume. This ridicule has made him even more determined to make sure that he succeeds in his endeavors. Category:Characters